Echoes of a Resonance Cascade
by Still Bullet
Summary: Tales of Alyx's life after the events at Black Mesa, but before the time of Half-Life 2. Series of stories. Most Recent: Aliens come into Black Mesa East, their only request being to stay, which quickly leads to uneasy reactions. REVAMPED!
1. Recalling Memories

_Well now, I'm trying something different. This is an idea I've had for a long, long time. It's a journal entry sort of thing based on Alyx's life after the incident at Black Mesa, but before the events of Half-Life 2. Basically this chapter is just an introduction and an example of how I plan to write it: it will open with a journal entry from Alyx, then a third-person narration will take over and explain what she's talking about. Check out the pilot for a better example._

_Note: These entries will NOT be in chronological order, so pretend that Alyx's journal got seriously ripped up or something and she put it in the wrong order. Please enjoy!_

**_Based on: Half-Life 2 (Valve)  
Rating: K+  
Author's Notes: Sorry it's short, it's just an example. I wrote this while having writer's block, so it may not be THAT exciting._**

**_--_**

_If you are reading this, than that could only be for two reasons:_

_1. I let you.  
2. __You stole it, which means that Dog wasn't as great of a guard as I thought he was._

_This is my private journal of things I have written throughout my life, up until now. I am a perfectly healthy twenty-four year old, whether or not I'm happy really depends on which story you will read. I have been through many bad times—the incident at Black Mesa did nothing but create hell._

_Can you imagine this place in ruin? I'll bet you've asked yourself that before, but you've never really thought about it happening. I ask the opposite each day—Can you imagine this place as it used to be, before the Combine invasion?_

_I have lost those dear to me, I have seen death flash before my eyes, and I've been on the verge of loosing my life as well. I've found some friends, saved some lives, and done things you probably haven't or plan to. I can use a gun, I can drive anything, you can show me something and I'll most likely be able to fix it. _

_My mother is gone, and after her death I've realized how important family is to me. I've lived through hammy-downs of my mother's old clothing, wearing the same thing for years and years until I can hardly move in it. While you were learning about ancient empires, I was learning how to use a sniper rifle. You learned how to read and write in first grade, I learned how to survive on my own. The list goes on and on._

_This is my life. I only hope that as you read each event I have written down, you will realize how lucky you are._

_-Alyx Vance_

A sigh erupted from the young woman as she closed the cover of her old, now tattered, journal. The light of her father's scrap yard was just barely enough for her to write in. Memories of her past experiences circled throughout her mind in a never ending loop. Dog's humungous posture stood next to her, electronic barking noises coming out from his synthetic mouth. Alyx turned around a slipped a smile at him.

"Now Dog," she began, "I want you to guard this, ok? Don't let anyone see it unless I tell you."

Dog shook up and down as another electronic bark could be heard from him. Alyx pat the metal flaps of his head.

"Good Doggie," she said in a childish-like tone, slipping the journal into Dog's shack that could be counted as a dog house. "I'll see you later, ok?"

Another electronic bark, another smile. Alyx walked towards the airlock, waving good-bye to her pet. "Take care of that!"

--

_Just another quick note, I tend to think of Alyx as a twnety-four year old. I have no idea how long ago Half-Life 1 was supposed to take place--the concepts say ten years, but I hear from others that it's twenty--but I'll assume that it's been twenty years. Also, there was a note in the book "Raising the Bar", a book filled with concepts of the game, that had brainstorms of Black Mesa's name, along with a date from 2003. I'll go ahead and say that's when Half-Life 1 took place, and we're in 2023 now. _


	2. Evacuation Plan

_Well, here's the pilot! I hope you enjoy this--I tried my best to explain what's happened. This is my longest story thus far, as well. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. Sorry if this doesn't seem that detailed, I have writier's block._

**_Based on: Half-Life 2 (Valve)  
Rating: I'd say just a little over K+  
Author's Notes: Just my thoughts of what happened. I tried to make the best sense out of it as I could, let me know how I did._**

**_--_**

_April 7__th__, 2015_

_After a long, long time, I finally came across someone I knew. Today was the first day I tried my plan of bringing citizens from City Seventeen to my father's lab, and while it didn't go so well for a first try (you should've seen Doctor Kleiner when I finally got back!), it felt good to see a familiar face. Hopefully this is one step closer to refilling my life._

_-Alyx_

"Are you sure that you're ready for this, Alyx?"

Such a question made the young woman roll her hazel eyes, her hands placed firmly on her hips. A strand of short reddish-brown hair rubbed against her cheek, which she pushed behind her ear with a single finger.

"Doctor Kleiner…" She took a sigh that hinted the annoyance she was currently feeling. "I've already talked to dad, I have all of the plans set up, don't worry." The former Black Mesa scientist pushed his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose with a forefinger. The attempted comfort of the young adult before him didn't exactly help in calming down his worries. Alyx let out a smile, trying to show Doctor Kleiner that she was serious.

"But, my dear, you are only sixteen. City Seventeen is a much worse place than you might think it is. Thank heavens Black Mesa East is far away from the Combine's reach—"

"Which is why we need to help these citizens get out of here and to my father's lab. Don't worry, Doctor. There's already a line of refugees that'll serve as an underground railroad, plus I'll be there guiding them." She cuffed his shoulder with her hand, a smile creeping up her lips. "How do you think I got here?" Doctor Kleiner nervously nodded to show that he understood. He opened his mouth as though he was about to say something, but paused a minute. He finally let out, "Well…yes, Eli _did_ tell me that your skills with that gun of yours were getting better…"

Alyx couldn't keep a triumphant smile from forming across her face.

Before Doctor Kleiner could tell her any more reasons why she shouldn't go, Alyx was out of the door that hid the secret lab and quickly made her way out towards the streets.

_But, my dear, you are only sixteen. _So? She was probably the youngest of anyone now—she was only four years old when the Black Mesa incident happened. That was twelve years ago; everyone else should be beyond their thirties and forties now. She had been handling a gun since she was seven years old and driving since she was ten, expertly at that. The only reasons she managed to live through this…this—she couldn't even describe it—was because she had the protection of the others; her father, Barney, Doctor Kleiner…

…and that man, Gordon Freeman. But he had been missing since before the Seven Hour War had even begun. Her father told her stories of how great he was, and how he risked his life that day. But somehow he just…disappeared. She remembered a little bit about him; dark haired, thick-rimmed glasses, a serious look on his face, tall—then again, so were all adults compared to her toddler-sized body back then.

And now that she thought about it…

Whatever happened to Barney?

He acted like an uncle to her—taught her how to defend herself, helped care for her, set up her father's lab in a location far off and unknown to the rest of the world other than to the resistance. Yet he went missing almost a year ago.

Alyx shook her head as she snapped her attention back to reality. She learned the hard way what could happen when you start drifting off at times like these—next thing you know, you could be shot down on the pavement. Speaking of which, where was she, anyway?

The train station of City Seventeen began to show itself off in the distance, although not too far. Doctor Kleiner's lab was at the back of that building; lucky for her, she didn't wander too far while stuck in her thoughts. A soft blue light leaked through the alley ways from electronic signs that usually broadcasted the "Breencasts" each day. At the moment it displayed the time,—it was close to one in the morning—along with the words "The curfew has started. Everyone should be at their tenements." Alyx's fingers twitched as she reached for her custom-made pistol slipped into holster she had hand-sowed out of old material that was connected to her belt. That curfew sign made her feel uneasy; Civil Protection was usually out and vicious at this time. Their stun sticks didn't stand a chance of her pistol from a distant range, sure, but those things hurt _bad _when you were hit by one.

Alyx narrowed her eyes as she scanned the area. Her plan was simple—any citizens trying to make a run for it at this hour she would help out. That's what she thought was the best thing to do, anyway; this was her first time doing this, so she was unsure how it would go. A distant voice crackled somewhere behind her. She jerked her attention to the source of the noise, pulling out her pistol with the trigger ready to be pulled. Was that Civil Protection? Or was that a citizen? Such a thought was hard to ponder with the emotion she was currently feeling. Alyx took a deep breath as she tried to refresh her mind. A good fighter wouldn't let this kind of thing get to them, she told herself. A good fighter would be ready for anything that might happen.

"You, citizen!"

A _better _fighter would have seen that coming. The voice was cold and filled with hatred; Alyx spun around to find its owner that of a Civil Protection officer. She refused to move as it neared her. "Citizen!" it repeated again. Her hazel eyes locked with the golden-tinted goggles that refused to show the once-human being behind it. Alyx glared at it and said nothing, yet held up her gun and let its muzzle do the talking. Noises from the rapid fire of the gun along with a robotic dying cry carried itself throughout the alleyway. The radio of the fallen cop stated its number and the section it was currently at, although quite loudly. More voices followed after the radio called—echoing from all different directions, this time. They all said the same thing, all in that cold and hating tone.

Alyx's eyes searched the area as she quickly tried to figure the best way out of the situation. Here they came—the Metro Cops ran in quickly from what appeared to be every single direction, closing in on her, blocking her exits. So, Alyx thought, she guessed that she might have to make one. She raised her pistol again—steadily, aiming at the officer coming from the train station. She figured that she would kill that cop and provide herself an exit out of the mob, and then circle around back to the lab and lose the Combine that might—forget that, they definitely will—follow her. Squeezing the trigger as fast as her finger would let her, she easily shot down the cop, but the others were still moving in way too fast. Her mind stayed focused, her vision only looking at the cop she was about to shoot down. _BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!_

Before she knew it, she had wiped out half of the crowd. Bodies with blood-covered masked heads and chests lay motionless on the cobblestone ground. Yet, the others ignored the deaths of their fellow officers.

_CLICK CLICK CLICK. _Before Alyx was able to finish the rest of the charging cops, her ammunition decided to fail on her. "Oh no no no," she quickly muttered, nervous eyes shifting to the oncoming officers. Alyx didn't even bother to reload her gun; it would waste too much time. She clenched her fists, ready to defend her self, when suddenly—

_WHACK!  
__BZZT!  
_"Oh, _god…_"

That damn stun stick got to her first, erupting pain throughout her back.

--

"You, get the information out of this one."  
"Well, how did you find her?"  
"Running around near the train station past the curfew—she doesn't seem to be a citizen."  
"Is she dangerous?"  
"Affirmative."

Oh god—what the hell was that immense pain that circled throughout her blood? Alyx took a quiet breath as her senses slowly came back to her, yet her strength did not. The voices silenced themselves, but Alyx made no movements. A buzzing sound continuously entered her ears, as though an electronic device was in the room. Beeps from an unknown device occasionally appeared, along with the sound of metal moving back and forth, it seemed. The voices started up again:

"Do whatever it takes to get the information out of her. She might know something about the resistance."  
"And if not?"  
"Send her to the citadel. Doctor Breen can determine what he wants to do with her."

With that, footsteps could be heard as a door slammed shut. The sound of whatever the unknown beings had in mind didn't exactly made Alyx feel comfortable. A new sound carried itself into the air: the other being left in the room began to type on something, which silenced the beeping and metal-moving noises from an unknown source. The situation she was currently in wasn't exactly one she wanted to be stuck in. Alyx slowly slid her fingers towards her holster, although keeping her eyes shut and trying to look as though she was still passed out. Something cold was felt above her wrists, though, limiting her movement. Ignoring this, Alyx continued to try to grab her pistol.

"Don't move!"

Until the being yelled at her in that cold, hating tone—the same as those Metro Cops had.

Alyx winced to herself as the click of a gun followed by footsteps entered her ear drums. "Do not try to fight back. You have no weapons." Not believing this mysterious being, Alyx quickly slipped her fingers over her holster as far as they could…only to find out in fear that it was indeed empty. Her fingers moved all around the inside of the holster, as though they were expecting to find something, anything.

She finally jerked her eyes open as she began to sweat. She was in some kind of room, sitting a chair, with her arms bound down onto its metal arms. A spot of blood at the foot of the chair made her feel uneasy. A Metro Cop, pistol in hand, in a position ready to be fired, stood in front of a Combine console. A desk was off towards the right of the officer, with her gun resting on top of it.

"Who are you and what were you doing at the train station?" The Metro Cop asked the question in an angry, forceful tone, acting as though it would tear the information out of her brain if it had to. Alyx was expecting this. Without hesitation, she quickly gave a response.

"I'm just a citizen here, trying to get the hell out," she snapped back at the officer, trying to imitate the cold and hating tone its voice filter gave off. Her voice was easily silenced as her eyes met with the muzzle of the pistol the Metro Cop was holding, shoving it closer and closer to her face with its finger wrapped tightly around the trigger. The slightest twitch could send a bullet right through her skull.

Alyx could feel the hair on the back of her neck begin to rise up as fear leaked into her expression. "Hey, no need to get rough," she said weakly. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll be getting out of her right now." A nervous laughter slipped out of her lips as she tried to struggle out from the bindings that currently forced her down. _Oh, come on, come on! _She thought to herself, trying to keep her mind from reaching the brink of hysterics.

"Alyx Vance!" The Metro Cop said the words so coldly, so filled with evil that Alyx was afraid that the voice itself would kill her. But wait a sec…how did that cop know her name?

"That is the biggest load of crap I've ever heard!"

Since when did the Combine talk like that?

The cop suddenly holstered its gun and grabbed its mask that covered the once-human face.

"I can't believe you fell for that!"

The face was easily identified by the memories of the teenager as the cop took off its mask. Barney Calhoun was smiling like an idiot at her, looking as though he was trying to keep himself from bursting out into laughter. Alyx sighed out of relief as she was glad that life was still circling throughout her veins, but embarrassment flushed her cheeks with a bright, pink hue.

"Barney? I can't believe you did that!" Alyx's anger burst out of her voice, a sour expression showing quite strongly, but Barney still kept that same smile on his face.  
"Fooled you, didn't I?" He ruffled her dark hair as Alyx slowly began to calm down. "Long time no see."  
"Same could be said for you," Alyx said, shooting back a smirk at him. "Now uhh…could you let me go?"  
Barney walked over to the console and pressed a single button, which made the bindings around Alyx's wrists to click open. She jerked her arms out, rubbing her wrists carefully, looking for any damaged skin. The only damage was that they were a little red, but nothing serious.  
"So," she began, although still remaining on the chair, "what happened to you? You went missing almost a year ago—"  
"Yeah." Barney took a quick sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Big ol' story on that one, save that for another time. I've tried to reach your father's lab before, but the signal won't go through. But hey, what about you? The hell are you doing here, Alyx?"  
"Trying to help citizens to get to Doctor Kleiner's lab so I could take all of them to dad's—"  
"Hold up." Barney let a brief moment of silence enter the conversation before continuing, "You mean Doctor Kleiner's lab was here the whole time?" Alyx raised an eyebrow.  
"Well, yeah. You didn't know that?"  
"Hell no, I've been working undercover for Civil Protection the whole time. Waiting for the chance to kill that damn Doctor Breen." Barney's expression looked serious for a moment, as he took a quick glance at his gun. He then turned around and grabbed Alyx's pistol. "Here," he said, as he tossed it to her. "Tuck that in your sweatshirt and lead me to Doctor Kleiner's." He then grabbed his mask, putting on the face that Alyx had grown to hate within her first few minutes of being in City Seventeen. "I hope you're good at acting," his voice now talking in that cold, hating tone again.

A short moment later, the grunt of the young woman followed by a scream of a filtered voice echoed in the hall of the train station. Heads turned to see Alyx, her hands bounded behind her back by handcuffs with cold sweat appearing across her forehead, being pushed forward by a Metro Cop, stun stick in hand. "To the citadel with you!" it screamed at her, kneeing her in mid-back, pushing down her head so that she was slightly leaning over. Alyx didn't even have to see his eyes to know that Barney was winking underneath that mask, a half smile sweeping across his face. "Now, go!"

--

_Barney's story of how he got to City Seventeen will be something I'll write on a later date. I think this seemed a little out of Barney's character, but I wanted to try it._


	3. Supply Run

_Ahh, here we go, this is something I've wanted to do for a long, long time.  
"We don't go to Ravenholm..." has to be the most famous chapter of Half-Life 2, for obvious reasons. When Alyx talks to you about it ("That's the old passage to Ravenholm. ...We don't go there anymore."), she sounds so depressed about it that it really made me think, what happened there to make her feel like that? And so, I wrote this. This is also my theory about the relationship between Black Mesa East and Ravenholm, and a little story about how Barney got his scar. This is a long story--3,172 words--so sit tight!_

_Special thanks to Spartan-IV for being such a huge inspiration. Please check out his pieces, they're amazingly well done!_

**_Based on: Half-Life 2 (Valve)  
Rating: T (The zombies were basically the main reason why the game was rated Mature)  
Author's Notes: I like giving names to the rebels. Rich happens to be the name of my bass teacher, as well XD  
And I'm sorry, I like Barney too much._**

**_--_**

_September 13__th__, 2011_

_Barney had asked me to come with him and some others on a supply run to Ravenholm, which I've only been to once before for a quick moment. What happened there today is something I will never be able to forget…_

_-Alyx_

"Alright guys, you ready?"

"Yeah!" Alyx was the first one to respond before the other refugees had even received a chance to take a breath. The young girl was very excited for this—she had never been in Ravenholm before. Well, she had one time, but that was when she was helping with building some machines there. Barney had managed to convince her father, although without his share of trouble, of having her accompany him and some other residents of Black Mesa East to make a supply run to Ravenholm. She already knew everything there was to know about that town—who lived there, who ran it, what they did. She even studied the maps her father had kept within his files more times than her eyes could take.

It was Barney and another group of refugees that had once discovered that town, after they cleared a closed up, hidden tunnel inside the lab. Old and nearly abandoned yet somehow not known to the Combine, they came across the very few locals there, surviving on nothing but old cans of food and water from random items that managed to catch the rainfall. The hellish atmosphere it gave seemed a lot like the Combine residential cities. The entire team at Black Mesa East soon shaped up that town; gave it generators to create its own electricity, running water from the canals nearby, wood to rebuild the broken-down houses and factories. They even supplied the citizens with food, guns and ammunition, and crops. After talking with them, the team had soon thought of a plan of bringing any runaways they might find throughout the canals and take them there. As time went on those past seven years, its population had grown. Black Mesa East continued to make runs to the town, carrying new guns and ammunition, food and water if they needed it, tools—the works. They contacted each other via radio when they needed more of anything, and recently they got a call from Ravenholm about two days ago.

Barney stood in the lead of everyone in the tunnel, still wearing one of his spare bullet-proof vests from Black Mesa, which was in surprisingly good shape. He wore it all the time since paranoia seemed common in everyone after the Combine came to Earth, and only had a few noticeable bullet-holes. His Black Mesa tag was removed, however—that was hanging up back at the lab inside his room. Alyx's gun had been slipped into her hand-sown holster, an old Black Mesa T-Shirt from her mother the only thing keeping her safe from the somewhat-cold day. It was still summer, and the weather was keeping its warm days as long as it could. About four refugees were behind her—each of them holstered either a revolver or a pistol in their belts. All of them were carrying something—Barney had the radio attached to his belt, next to his gun, and was holding a small box of ammunition for unknown types of guns with one of his arms. The other refugees carried either food or a box of tools. Alyx had the smallest box, which happened to be filled with crops, as requested from her father, so his twelve-year-old daughter wouldn't feel exhausted.

Barney turned around to face the cameras attached to the stone wall behind him, red lights blinking to show that they were recording. "See ya in a few hours, Doc!" He gave a thumbs-up towards the cameras, before turning back around and heading towards the ladder. A large, hollow box was a little ways off from the base of the ladder, connected to a rope which ran to a pulley at the top. Barney carefully placed his box of ammunition in there, and the others did the same. "Shayna, you take care of the pulley." A dark-skinned woman behind Alyx nodded, and Barney and the others soon made their way to the top of the ladder.

"Supplies coming up!" shouted Shayna, as she pulled the rope and brought the box up. Each person took back their supplies, and their journey to Ravenholm had started again. The call of a distant bird and the light of the late afternoon sun soon poured into the tunnel, indicating that they had arrived. "Yo, Rich!" Barney called out into the distance. Alyx easily recognized who he was talking about—Rich was the head of the refugees here, and also controlled what they did with the supplies given.  
"Rich?" Barney called out again.

Dead silence was their answer.

Sunlight blinded each being's eyes, as shock soon left them dumb-struck. "Oh my god," came a cry from Alyx—everyone else was silent.

All of their vision was looking straight at a large canister in the corner of the area, looking as though it was some sort of large missile.  
"What is that thing?" The obvious question everyone was currently pondering slipped out from one of the refugees behind them. The only answer that followed was Barney shaking his head in worry. He slowly took a step forward, examining the area. His senses didn't trust the environment; it was easy to tell as he quickly placed down the box and slipped out his pistol. Alyx was already used to this from her training, although this was the first time she might actually shoot her gun in a real emergency situation. Each other person did the same—dropped their supplies, took out their guns.  
"Alright everyone…" The first words after a minute or two of silence had came out from Barney. "If it's not obvious, this isn't something we want to be around. There're a lot of those missiles, or-whatever-the-hell-they-are around here, so keep your guns at the ready."  
Everyone complied without word.  
"There's gotta be someone around here that can tell us what's happened," Barney muttered. "Alright, new mission—we're now starting a search party. Kane, I want you to head back and get some help."  
"I'm on it," replied one of the men behind Alyx, as he turned around and went back towards the ladder. "Alyx, you do the same."  
"_What?_" Alyx blurted out. "Barney, I'm not leaving!" Barney sighed, looking as though he didn't want to argue at the moment.  
"Fine," he said, with a sigh of annoyance. "Move out! I want you two to go left," he pointed at two of the others, "and you guys come with me. You too, Alyx."  
Alyx muttered something to herself quietly. Barney only wanted her to come because he didn't trust her alone. Each group began to run ahead as Barney shouted, "Let's go!"

That…was nearly an hour ago. That entire time, all they had been doing was walking. The two other refugees that had followed Barney and Alyx had gone a different direction long ago. Every door Alyx and Barney passed by they had to knock, every room they entered they had to search and clear out everything, every noise they heard they had to stop and listen. But not a single piece of proof of survivors was able to be found. The sun was already setting, and the beautiful light that the golden hour gave out casted a bright orange light on anything it touched.  
"Barney," Alyx began, sounding a bit tired. "Why don't you try the radio again?"  
Barney had tried to contact somebody in Ravenholm via radio at least five times now. Every ten minutes, that's all he did. Unclipping it from his belt, he tried once more. "Ravenholm, this is Barney Calhoun. Come in, over."  
No response but static.  
"Ravenholm," he repeated again.  
Still no answer.  
"Rich, damn it, somebody, answer!"  
Silence never sounded so painful to either of them.  
"God, where the hell is that search party?" Alyx gave her turn at complaining. They tried to reach Black Mesa East before, but the signal didn't seem to get through. Neither of them had seen the others, nor had they seen anyone else from the lab.

A horrible smell soon began to carry itself throughout the air. "Oh god," Alyx said, blocking her nose with her free arm. "What the hell is that smell?" Barney didn't seem to answer. Judging by his expression, he smelt it too, but it seemed like a…familiar smell to him.

Finally, a sound entered their ears. But it wasn't exactly a comforting sound of a human voice. No, it was a loud crash in the distance, stopping each being in their tracks. "What was that?" Barney asked automatically, aiming his gun towards the source of the noise. Again, another crash—this time the source was visible to them.

"Get down!" came a cry from Barney, as he turned around and pushed Alyx out of the way. They both jumped forward and hit the ground as one of those canisters—the same model as the one they had seen back at the town's entrance—crashed nose-first into the ground only a few yards ahead of them, shaking the ground violently. A sizzling noise could be heard as smoke began to settle around it. The back flaps of its tail opened up, releasing with it cries of an unknown creature, along with the creatures themselves. Barney shouted a curse to himself as he immediately recognized that sound.

"Headcrabs!" he shouted, as he began to shoot at the alien forms that emerged from the canister. Alyx soon followed his example and shot at the creatures—the last time she had seen those were back at Black Mesa. Another sound carried itself throughout the darkening sky…it sounded like a bull, or an elk call to Alyx. Unfortunately for her, the source of the call wasn't exactly something she wanted to see.

People soon began to emerge from the corners of the buildings ahead of them—although, these could be counted as creatures now. Headcrabs covered their heads, with their legs embedded into their chests and spine. Blood dyed their shirt and jeans, their hands completely covered with it, with their fingers elongated so that they were now sharp claws. Their chests were completely ripped open, exposing their lungs—now tinted a sickly color—along with their ribs and other organs, some of them missing. They limped their way over towards the two, however slowly. Barney and Alyx easily shot them down, with Barney grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up. "Come on!" he shouted, turning around and dragging her back towards the entrance of the hidden town. More calls of the headcrab zombies entered both of their ears, making Alyx grip her gun tightly. Another alien call was heard, as another zombie jumped down from the rooftops in front of the two. But this one was different—its skin had been completely torn off, along with most of its muscle and organs. Three of its fingers were elongated, and its bone was exposed around its limbs. It ran quickly towards them, like an animal on the hunt, surprisingly showing no trouble even though it was missing vital parts of its body. Its headcrab was rounded, paler, and had thinner legs that were embedded into the host's body in a criss-cross fashion. Neither Barney nor Alyx had seen this type of monster before, but the both of them did the exact same thing—shot right for its head. The fast zombie fell onto the ground, allowing them to continue their escape. More zombies appeared here and there, and Barney was currently trying to replace the ammunition within his pistol with his last full magazine. The sun was nearly gone, and the two were relying on the dim street lamps to guide their way.

A hissing sound, like that of a rattle snake, came from a dark shadow next to one of the buildings. A black headcrab launched itself at Barney's head after it let out a squeal.  
"Damn it!" Barney shouted, as he stepped back towards a corner of a fence while the creature tried to grip itself around his head. He tore it off—although with difficulty—and Alyx immediately shot it dead for him. Barney's legs soon became shaky, and with two steps the old security guard had collapsed face-first with the hard soil below.  
"Barney?" Alyx nearly shouted, stepping back to help the man she felt was an uncle to her. "Barney, come on, we're almost there!"  
"Damn…poisonous headcrabs," Barney whispered, although it could hardly be heard over the calls of the approaching zombies. More of them came, slowly creating a circle around the pair. Barney was helpless at the moment, so Alyx grabbed his pistol and attempted to dual-wield. It was pretty tough for her to do; she was getting the most hits with her own gun, and only occasionally hit her targets with Barney's gun. Nevertheless, she continued to shoot at the zombies, bringing them down with a muffled scream of pain from their hosts. Alyx managed to shoot the headcrab off of one of them, but shock caused her to pause for a moment. Its face was covered in blood, but Alyx easily recognized it—it was Rich. She saw him here once before, and has seen many, many pictures of him. But to see him come across a fate like this…the thought was too much for Alyx to bear.

She took a quick scan of each of the zombies. Was she shooting at the Ravenholm citizens this entire time? The thought made her feel weary herself, but she tried to keep her vision focused on reality. She knelt down and faced Barney, shaking him and saying, "Come on Barney, wake up!" with desperation. Barney seemed to be only half-conscious, but it was obvious that he couldn't stand on his own. It didn't matter who Alyx was shooting at anymore—she continued to wipe out any zombies she could. If she was expecting this, she would have packed more ammunition for her gun as well, but right now she was running on her last magazine. Knowing that she couldn't be in this situation any longer, she wrapped Barney around her back and began to drag him towards the entrance. That was something hard for her twelve-year-old-body to do—she barely made it a few feet ahead of where they originally were before collapsing. A zombie had suddenly emerged from the shadows ahead of her, taking a swing at them with its bloody, inhuman claws. Alyx tried her best to shoot it down before it could damage them, but she was a second too late. The tip of one of its claws took a swipe across Barney's cheek, creating a long, but thin, gash. Barney yelped as a reaction to the pain, as blood leaked down towards his lips, both of his own and dried blood from the zombie's claws. Alyx could feel her body beginning to shake with her fear, even though the headcrab fell dead before them.

"Don't worry Barney, we'll get out of here," she shouted to him, trying to comfort him the best she could. It seemed as though she was doing that more for calming _herself_ down, however—Barney used to be a security guard, after all, he's probably had worse than this. This was Alyx's first real emergency, never has she fought these creatures, let alone see them since Black Mesa.

The zombies just kept on coming. Whimpers soon began to escape from Alyx's mouth—she knew that the others that came with them from Black Mesa East were probably one of them by now. Closing her eyes and gritting her teeth, she flipped Barney over so his back was on the ground instead, and grabbed his arms, pulling him as she tried to walk backwards towards the entrance. She memorized the maps of Ravenholm and knew that it wasn't so far from their current position, but at the state Barney was in, who knows if they'll make it back ok.

Another new sound—Alyx was just about sick of hearing those. Maniacal laughter followed by a blaze of shotgun fire entered the night, making one of the zombies close to the two fall dead in its tracks. A male voice then said something, sounding as though it was a scripture from the Bible. The voice sounded gruff and had what seemed to be a Russian accent. More sounds of a blazing shotgun silenced the zombies, however not once did its bullets try to reach Alyx.

"Hello?" But this time it wasn't the mysterious man talking, it was a soothing voice. "Anyone here?" it called out again. Alyx turned towards the source, shouting a response.

"_Hey!_" She used all of the oxygen within her lungs to scream for help. "Help us! I've got an injured one over here!"

Gunfire from some type of machine gun along with footsteps was her response. "Alyx?" called someone. It was one of the refugees back from Black Mesa East, the one that was sent to get help earlier. About six others were behind him, and Alyx couldn't feel happier about their timing. Without saying another word, the team already knew what to do. Three of them went ahead of the others, shooting down the zombies that currently posed a threat, while two of the others came over towards Barney.

"Is he gonna be all right?" Alyx asked, nervous about what the answer might be. A brown-haired woman quickly took a look at his gash.  
"Yeah, he'll be fine," she said, showing a smile as an attempt to calm Alyx down. "He just got bitten by a poisonous headcrab. One shot of the antidote and he'll be fine. That gash might leave a mark, though." Alyx frowned.

_Sorry, Barney, _she thought to herself, as she could hear another curse about the headcrab be muttered under Barney's breath. His eyes were half-closed and he looked pale, but Alyx was confident that he would heal fine. The two refugees quickly picked him up and began to drag him towards the exit.

"Let's get out of here," shouted one. Alyx could hear a command directed towards her be called. She had no hesitation when it came to leaving. Before she did, however, she quickly turned around and faced the mysterious source of the unknown voice.

"Thank you," she whispered, before high-tailing it to catch up with the others.

"May the light of lights guide you!"

--

_The brief mention of Father Grigori was put in there mainly because he's like, you know, the reason why Ravenholm's so cool. I like zombies and everything, but Ravenholm? While it never really scared me, going to the "wrong side of town" wasn't exactly a joy. And don't even get me started on that XBOX achievement of going through it using only the Gravity Gun..._

_If it's not obvious, Barney got poisoned by the headcrab, so he couldn't do anything. Gordon's suit has the antidote, so of couse he's fine, but Barney doesn't. And I'll go ahead and say that Alyx got the antidote sometime in her life before Half-Life 2, which is why she's fine when attacked by a poisonous headcrab._

_Let me know what you think, anyway. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I got three pages done in way day, which is a record for me, and finished it today, adding to five and a quarter pages. There was a brief mention of something from "Raising the Bar", and if you're a geek like me you might have spotted it._


	4. born

_Ahh, about time I updated this! Now is a busy month for me, since there are finals and projects and all. I acutally got out of school early because of how hot it is!_

_This is an idea that I've had in mind for a fairly long time, and I thought that it could fit with this series. And so, I present to you, "born."!_

**_Based on: Half-Life 2 (Valve)  
Rating: K+. There's nothing bad in here, but I don't think that younger kids would really understand it so much.  
Author's Notes: Just my thoughts on one of the posters. I hope you like it, I've been wanting to try out this idea for a while, now! It's actually pretty short, too--only a little over 1,000 words._**

**--**

_July 27__th__, 2018_

_I saw this piece of graffiti today, and I just couldn't keep staring at it. Its meaning is just something that couldn't stop me from drifting into thought. But it made me realize something..._

_-Alyx_

"born."

That's all it said. That's all that poster said—just "born." Not even capitalized, not even written in any fancy styled lettering, not using any insane color scheme, nothing. Just four letters, written in some kind of dark red _something_—she didn't know if it was paint, marker, or what—put on the bottom of the white sheet of paper.

It was big. You could count it as poster sized, but Alyx didn't. It was just sort of…random—there were already plenty of posters and graffiti littering City Seventeen. There already were many scribbled names you can never read unless you wrote it, lists of events for things nineteen years ago, when City Seventeen actually had a name and wasn't ruled by these inhuman monsters, stickers and other things taped to the walls, pictures of forgotten rulers, that sort of thing. She's sometimes seen a couple of images of Breen's face, with the word "Resist" under in it big, bold letters, but she's never seen a poster like this before.

It was a hand, reaching up towards the sky—maybe even towards heaven. Its large, muscular fingers looked as though they were trying to grasp something, yet nothing appeared. The veins were popping out; it seemed as though the hand was struggling at this grasp-and-miss attempt.

Alyx narrowed her eyes as she scanned the poster once more. Right dead-center in the palm of the grasping hand was a lambda. It was bold, shaded, right in the middle of a circle—she had no idea why she noticed this last when it was obviously the point of the picture.

Nineteen years of experience and she had no idea what it meant. She automatically thought about Black Mesa, since that's where that hell-hole opened, and the lambda seemed important to them over there, for some reason she never knew. The same symbol—the lambda in a circle, she meant—was put on _every_ HEV suit. She can hardly remember seeing them; her four-year-old memory wasn't really meant for being stuffed with information. But she was nineteen now and was still able to remember it, at least a little. She remembered her dad talking about a Lambda Complex back in Black Mesa that was all the way on the other side of the whole facility. Needless to say, she had never even been there, let alone hardly been inside the Black Mesa laboratories in the first place.

But just, for whatever reason, the rebels seemed to adopt the lambda as their own symbol. She never did figure out why. They'd leave the same symbol, the lambda in a circle, at some spot, made huge with some kind of yellow paint, supplies not lingering too far away from it. She thought she saw one of those close to her father's lab, now that she was on that topic. She didn't even know who put it there—one moment that wall was clean, next it has _that_ on it.

Back to the point, though. It wasn't long before Alyx began to wonder who drew that hand, why they put it there. Doctor Kleiner's lab was only the hallway behind the hidden door over there; the only people that went down here were Barney and she, and possibly the Combine…but she _highly _doubted they would make that poster.

Alyx tapped her chin as she continued to ponder to herself. From what she knew, Barney wasn't an artist. She could draw blue prints and stuff like that, and her skills when it came to art were…ok, to say the least, but she already knew that _she _didn't make that poster. Hell, she didn't even know what it _meant._

She didn't think that Doctor Kleiner was much of an artist, either…all the drawings she's seen littered around his lab were just ideas or brainstorms, sometimes even the final plans for some kind of machine or another. But her mind didn't really grasp that fact that he could have possibly made it.

Then she thought about the citizens that she and Barney help bring over here. She couldn't exactly recall anyone bringing a poster along with them—she was pretty sure that she'd notice that. Barney didn't really mention anything about some guy and a poster—his paranoia probably would have prevented that guy—or maybe even girl—from posting such a thing around here, anyway.

But what was the _meaning_? Who made it wasn't so important; _why _they made it was another thing. Alyx shook her head as she ran through possibly meanings for it. Was "born" the name of the artist? No, that wouldn't make sense. The period at the end of the simple word meant that it was sentence, a statement—they were trying to tell her something. But what, damn it, _what_?

Let's see…now that she thought about it, the rebels, and only the rebels, used the lambda as a symbol, for whatever reason she didn't know. She's seen some refugees before, but their outfits remained clear and clean of the certain Greek letter everyone was so fond of. That was odd.

Alyx went back to questioning the grasping hand. What was it trying to grab, exactly? A cloud? Air? Something out of reach?

Or maybe it was just something not meant to be seen?

She raised her hand up into the air, imitating exactly how it looked in the poster. "Born…" she whispered, letting her thoughts surround that certain word. Lambda. The rebels. How did they relate, exactly?

That's when it hit her. The rebels were free from the grasp of the Combine. You could tell apart a rebel from the rest just by the fact that they have a lambda somewhere on their outfit, one way or another.

Lambda. Freedom.

She finally understood. Her mind finally caught the meaning of the poster. The lambda was a symbol of freedom, in such a time as now. Born…they were born a rebel. They were born free.

"Born free, die free." Alyx let the words drift in the air as she stood there, her arm still imitating the poster, with her fingers still trying to grasp something.

It was then did she finally realize that the hand wasn't _trying _to grasp something; it was, in fact, already _holding_ something. It was holding its freedom.

Alyx smiled to herself as she tapped the lambda in a circle on the poster. "Born a rebel." She tossed the poster a smile, before walking off towards Doctor Kleiner's lab.

_Nineteen years ago…_

_I was __**born.**_


	5. Junk Monkey

_And now's the time where I randomly roll in and shout, "Hey, guys! I missed ya!" I just came back from a vacation Thursday (13+ hour car ride, phew!) Hate to say it, but I'm heading out on vacation again in a week, which will be closely followed by school. Anyway, this series really needed an update for a while--I was shocked to know that the last chapter I wrote for this was early June! Time flies!_

_This isn't exactly a heart-pounding story, but more-so just a little one of those pondering kinds of things. I still have writer's block, so sorry for that. This could have sounded better if you ask me, but I seem to be losing my touch a bit._

_By the way, extreme thanks to everyone for your reviews with the Sheckley and Griggs addition to "Tales From the Rebels"! I didn't know so many people would love it! Obsidian Thirteen pointed out that it sounded like Pisces' "Follown Freeman!" series--I'm really sorry if that's the case! If there were any similairities, it was not intentional!  
Let's get on with the story, shall we?_

**_Based on: Half-Life 2 (Valve. Heh, I just made a typo that said "Half-Life 12" XD Wouldn't that be the day?)  
Rating: K+. Once again, nothing bad, but that game itself requires the more mature folks to understand.  
Author's Notes: Heh heh...wow. You don't know how hard I am cracking up right now. "Junk Monkey" is actually the nickname of my friend's boyfriend, so naming this chapter after him is just...wow. Odd feeling.  
So, this takes place in a fictional place that I dubbed as "the Wastes", after the original concepts of what lied past City 17, which was mainly just a dried riverbed with train tracks running through. Anyway, please enjoy this! Sorry this took so long to upload--I was writing it before I left for vacation, so I had to leave it for a few days.  
This story ranks in at 2,300 words--not so bad._**

**_--_**

_June 19__th__, 2022_

_Dog and I went hunting through the Wastes today to see if we could find anything to help with the teleport dad's been working on, or if we could find anything else. Well, we found something, alright—what the hell it is, though, I have no idea._

_-Alyx_

"Dog! Dog? Hey—what are you doing over there?" The young woman could feel the rough soles of her boots slip as she carefully walked over the heaps of junk the Combine had sent here. Black Mesa East had officially dubbed this area as "the Wastes" because of this, and it was only about a reasonable distance away from City Seventeen. A drop of sweat tickled down from Alyx's forehead as she tried her best to keep up with her electronic pet, whom at this point was searching through a pile of shrapnel ahead of its owner. "What, boy?" she questioned, as she watched the animated lump of metal search through the pile. Dog just kept making electronic barks to himself, clearing away a side of the pile. Alyx took this time to her advantage as she took a deep breath, feeling a thin layer of sweat beginning to form around her body. It was hard to be out in the heat of June with her leather jacket and tight jeans—unfortunately for her, that was the only thing that fit her, anymore. She already tried looking through any spares of her mother's clothing her father might still have, but unfortunately, he hardly had any. He couldn't exactly carry that much out of Black Mesa—all he had was just Alyx and that old photograph.

"_Voot_!" Dog's electronic communications caught Alyx' attention back to reality, as she watched her robotic friend pull out something from the pile in front of him. It wasn't much, exactly, but it made the twenty-three year old smile, letting out a slight giggle.

"Oh Dog, it's beautiful," she said with happiness bursting out of her lips, as her pet handed her a piece of metal. Dog's strong hydraulic-powered muscles had easily bent the sides of the metal into a curl, making the object seem as though it were a flower. Alyx smiled once again, tucking the new gift into her jacket pocket.

"Ok boy," she began, getting a quick scan of the area. "Dad needs those parts. You already know what we're looking for, right?" Dog nodded, shifting his large body weight into a pose that made him seem as though he was ready to play. Alyx carefully walked towards him, trying her best not to lose her balance.

"Alright boy," she exclaimed in a childish tone, grabbing the sides of the metal flaps of his head and giving it a gentle jerk like it was a steering wheel. "Go look over there, ok?" She pointed towards the right of them. "I'll be over here. Give a shout if you find anything." Dog let out another electronic bark as an agreement, and he began to knuckle his way over towards his destination. Alyx watched Dog for a few moments, and then changed her attention to focus on the junk ahead of her.

She's been to the Wastes a couple of times in her life before, and has seen some very strange things. The Combine threw out the weirdest things—whether it be their machines that no longer work, old parts of City Seventeen, or even some citizens' luggage. She's seen an open suitcase before, which was only filled with a sock and a necklace. It was actually a bit depressing.

Alyx quickly navigated her ways towards a part of the pile that was slightly raised, which acted like a lookout for her. She quickly hopped on it and took a look around, trying to shield her eyes from the rays of the late afternoon sun. The Wastes was just a sea of garbage; useless to the Combine, but helpful to the rebels. It was hard to pick out what she needed just by looks—there was so much scrap metal around that most of the time she had to dig just to find what she was looking for. Even then, she only had about one-third of a chance of finding what she needed. She could hear Dog in the background, nosing his way through the piles. She let a laugh slip past her as she walked a little ways ahead of the lookout point.

"Let's see," she muttered, as she gently gripped the edge of her chin with her thumb and index finger. Her hazel eyes slowly scanned the area, looking for anything that might be of interest. A grunt of thought managed to make it through her closed lips, as nothing really seemed to stick out to her. But, then again, the things you want never appear in front of your feet, especially in times like this. Alyx quickly bent her arms behind her back, twitching her fingers and feeling the satisfaction of the cracking of her joints. She decided to see if there was anything buried in the pile a little ways to the left of her, taking her fingerless gloves off while she walked over there. She was fine with getting her hands dirty, but it was a pain to clean out those gloves. She took a quick scan of the pile in front of her, which didn't exactly seem to hold anything interesting. With a crack of her knuckles she got to work, slowly and carefully clearing away the chunks of metal. All of the pieces she came across were either too damaged or not what she was looking for, which made her mutter a complaint under her breath.

Alyx paused for a moment as she felt something…soft between her hands. She pulled out the mysterious object gingerly, and felt a feeling of dread shoot through her. She was looking directly into the plastic eyes of a young girl's doll, it seemed. The doll had a smile across its dirty and blackened face. A tear ran across her forehead revealing its stuffing, with half of her blonde hair ripped off; the strands that remained were all over the place. A sun-bleached green dress was wrapped loosely around her plush boy, one of her sowed-on shoes missing. Alyx felt like crying just by the sight of it.

She gently gripped the doll close to her chest, giving it a hug as her eyes closed half-way with misery.

"I'm sorry."

Why she murmured that apology to the doll was something she wasn't exactly sure of. Was she sorry for the doll, or for its used-to-be-owner? Or was she just sorry that the world had to be like this?

A deep sigh escaped from her lips as she twisted her body and gently placed the doll down behind her. But that didn't feel right to do, either; she didn't want to leave it alone out here. Alyx turned her attention away from the doll, and concentrated on the pile in front of her, once again. She was a bit disappointed that Dog didn't seem to have any luck, but she wasn't having much, either. She continued digging through the pile, her hands now blackened and covered with stains of unknown liquids and dirt.

Scrap metal, scrap metal, scrap metal. Not much else. She came across a couple of bricks now and then, most likely from some sort of wreckage of City Seventeen. There was even a large letter "F" that seemed as though it belonged to a sign that displayed a name on the front of a building. She even came across a door knob, but not the door itself. A couple of times, something poked at her palms, but her skin was so tough and callus-covered that she didn't actually feel anything. One time she pulled out what seemed to be some kind of sun hat, which had a large hole in the center with its straw-like material ripped up and pulled apart. She quickly threw it on her head anyway, just to see if it would fit. Funny enough, it did, and it acted as a nice shield to the harmful sun rays. It felt a bit uncomfortable to her after a few minutes, however, and she didn't exactly like the fact that it was sitting in junk for god-knows-how-long, so she placed it aside. She pulled aside pieces of metal that seemed like it would be good for the teleport, but she only found about three. Her face was covered with sweat now, causing her to slightly shiver when a breeze past by her neck. She realized that sun was actually setting now, and she didn't exactly want to hang around the Wastes at night.

She continued digging anyway, at least for a few minutes, to see what she could find. It seemed to be a last try sort of thing in a way, but she didn't expect to find much. She hadn't heard Dog in a while, now that she thought about it, but she figured he might have went farther away from her, as he was most likely still searching. Alyx pushed aside the trash gingerly, as she had done for the past few hours now, scanning the heap and trying to look for anything that seemed helpful.

Another odd object seemed to slip under Alyx' hand, but this one made her wince at first when she made contact with it. It felt rather odd—it was smooth, but the surface of the object seemed a bit soft. Curiosity seemed to take over her mind, as Alyx pulled it out from underneath the piles of junk that covered it. At first glance, she was tempted to grab her pistol, as her eyes met with a glowing yellow, which automatically made her think about the Combine. She calmed down, however, as she got a better glimpse of it.

The object was a bit large yet lightweight, and seemed to resemble a watermelon with its size and oval-like shape. The two yellow objects were small circles that popped out on the upper sides of the object. They seemed to resemble lenses to a pair of goggles. In the lower center of the object seemed like some kind of filter, like the Combine tended to have on their gas-mask-like attire. A long, black cord came out from what appeared to be the bottom of the object, where its surface was flattened. The white color of the object was beyond dirtied and scratched, and didn't exactly appear to be in the greatest condition. Alyx managed to raise a brow, as she tilted the object from side to side, examining it carefully. What the hell was it, exactly?

Alyx took a long glance at the object, switching her vision toward the darkening sky, the distance of the Wastes behind her, and then finally at the items that she had collected within the past few hours. Her ears focused quite carefully to see if she could hear a sound from Dog, but she could only hear silence.

"Dog?"

She cried out the word so softly, that she wasn't surprised when no one seemed to answer.

"Dog!" she cried out again, this time the canals echoing her voice. Alyx could faintly hear the comforting "_VOOT_!" of one of Dog's electronic barks somewhere in the area in front of her.

"Hey boy!" she continued to call. "Get over here; it's time to get going!"  
Another faint bark was her reply, and the pounding sound of metal-on-metal began to echo louder and louder, until Alyx was able to make out the large figure of her companion. Dog stopped a few feet away from Alyx, doing a large summersault before he stood tall above his owner. Alyx simply smiled, letting a giggle escape her lips.

"Hey Dog," she said in the middle of a laugh, patting her metal pet. "You didn't happen to find anything, did you?" Dog shook his head as he seemed to lower his body, letting an electronic whimper out as the metal flaps of his head dropped down. Alyx let out a comforting smile toward the one red-eye of the machine, gently placing her hand onto of one of the metal flaps.  
"Oh, that's ok, I think we've got enough for now." She turned around and grabbed the pieces of metal that she had collected, scooping it into her arms and hugging her chest, letting the weight of the objects push against her.

"Actually, Dog…" she took a moment's pause before continuing. "Can you carry this?" Dog let out a bark of agreement, grabbing the objects gently with one of his iron fists. He seemed to have no problem standing three-legged. Alyx smiled, although a bit nervously, and turned around to grab the mysterious oval object. She still didn't know what it was, and her vision managed to catch Dog pondering the appearance of the object, as well. Alyx quickly let out a yawn before she began to walk forward on the un-even heaps of trash.

"Well, let's go, boy. Can't keep dad waiting." Dog barked yet again, and Alyx managed to let a little laugh escape from her lips. Her eyes looked down into the object she cradled with one of her hands, staring deeply into its yellow eye-like attachments.

_Well, it can't be harmful_, she thought to herself. It seemed to be the only thing that popped into her mind about the mysterious object, but she took a deep sigh as she tried to ignore any negative thoughts about what it could possibly be.  
_I guess dad will know what it is. Somebody's got to know something._

_--_

_Ahh, yes. The Cremator head. For those of you who don't know, that mysterious object Alyx uncovered is what you see in that green jar over at Eli's lab. Although it's never identified in-game, Valve confirmed in "Raising the Bar" that it's actually an enemy from the beta, called the Cremator. The Cremator would be summoned to hose down some "leftovers" after a disturbance has happened. Like, if there was an unprising, he would get rid of the bodies with his vaporizor-weapon-thing. Would have been awesome to see him in Episode One._

_I realized that I failed to do what I wanted to do here, which was have Alyx fool around with stuff that reminded her of the old days, before the Combine invasion. I only got to the hat and the doll, since my writer's block is still annoying me, unfortunetly. Not too bad, however. Also, that "F" Alyx found was supposed to be a reference to the E3 trailer of the fight with the Strider (Freeman chucks an "F" he stole from the side of a building at the Strider with the Gravity Gun. It doesn't damange it, obviously.)_

_Thanks for taking the time to read, and for your reviews! By the way, I created a poll--please check it out! Thank you!_


	6. Leave That Thing Alone, Part One

_EDIT [4/22/09]: After reading this a thousand times, I realized that it was no where near as detailed as it should have been, and I was afraid it sounded a bit boring. I'm home from school today due to unexplainable reasons, so I took advantage of the moment and revamped this. Special thanks to Spartan-IV for the advice on radio talk. Always ask the professionals, kids!_

_It's really weird how time flies. I was just telling my good friend Spartan-IV about how I realized that it's been months since I last wrote for Half-Life, although it certainly doesn't seem like it. You guys are my little fan base, and I wouldn't write if it weren't for you. This collection of stories is surprisingly popular, and I had no idea it would gain as much support as it did. And so, I decided it was time for an update._

_I have a document where I simply bullet possible story ideas and this idea was written in blue, meaning that it was an idea I wanted to try next. It's been in blue for a while now, and I decided that I should finally write it. What's it about? You know I love the element of surprise. So you'll find out soon. It feels great to write for Half-Life again, and I certainly do miss you guys (assuming that you guys are my awesome Half-Life friends, but new readers are awesome too). But anyway, let's roll on!_

**_Based on: Half-Life 2 (Valve)  
Rating: It surprisingly doesn't contain violence, but there's some conflicts caused by frustration, so K+  
Author's Notes: You can thank Rush for the title. I've fallen in love with one of their live CD's, and their instrumental named the same as the title is now another one of my favorite song. It kinda does sound alien-ish if you listen to it, actually.  
Anyway, this story is huge! 5,200 words to be exact, but that was before I revamped this, so I'm guessing it's not about 6,500 words. And notice how it says Part One--there's so much more I want to add to this, so if this part is liked enough, I'll write Part Two; I'll put more notes on that at the end of the story. And the fact that this takes place in 2009 is a coincidence, I swear. No, seriously._**

**_--_**

_October 2__nd__, 2009_

_Some aliens came into base today, whether or not they're friendly is something I'm still not sure of. They're not hostile as far as I know, but then again that could easily change. Everybody made a fuss about it, but now everything seems calm—for now, at least. I'm not sure how we'll hold up since they want to live here, but we'll see._

—_Alyx_

"This is sentry five, come in East." The radio call hissed with static before silence cut it short. The deep voice that escaped from the radio sounded a bit worried or unsure of something or another, but ten-year-old Alyx Vance was too busy taking interest in a picture of Dog she was currently drawing to realize. It looked nothing like the real thing, but that didn't matter to her. Alyx let the words of the radio call linger in the air, assuming subconciously that someone else would eventually take interest in it.

"East, come in. We've got possible hostiles approaching." Alyx stopped her up-and-down drawing motions as she quickly examined the picture before her. She murmured something to herself, and then added a few waxy lines of yellow to Dog's figure. Originally, she had came here as request of her father to keep him company, but he decided to grab a cup of tea just a short while ago. He left Alyx with only the simple thought that he'd be back in a few minutes.

"Black Mesa East, I need a response, now." The young girl grunted to herself as she realized that nobody had answered the radio by now. There was no point in ignoring any logner; as part of the resistance, and daughter of its leader, she felt as though she had the responsibilty to respond, since no one else had. She let a little sigh slip through her nostrils as she gently placed down her crayon, rising to her feet. She leaned over and turned the knob on the old device.

"This is East, what's up?" she simply questioned. Her response was only silence.

"Alyx?" The sentry finally responded, although his voice seemed to indicate doubt and weariness. "Is your dad or somebody else around there?"

"No," Alyx quickly responded. "He went to get tea at the kitchen for a moment. Why, what's wrong?" Despite the sentry's reaction to her presence at the radio, Alyx's voice didn't stagger with any emotion. She sounded rather professional, acting like a more humanized Metro Cop, except for the fact that she spoke plain English—understandable at that—and not a collection of numbers.

"Well, uh, I might need some backup here." Static interrupted the conversation before the voice continued. "There's a few…aliens approaching base, but they're not Combine. Not sure if they're friendly, but they look rather…uhh…lost."

"How many are there?" Alyx quickly asked. She maksed her emotions behind a voice that tried to show that she was calm, but her concern was still able to leak through. The sentry took a moment to respond, making Alyx guess that he might be counting the exact number.

"Looks like there's only three of them," he finally responded. Alyx heard him softly cough soon after.

"Any idea what they are?"

"Uhh…no. They don't look like Combine synths, and they're definitely not zombies or human. They could be Xenian. Not sure; they're too far away to see any detail through the scope."

"Alright," Alyx responded. "Keep an eye on them. I'll go tell my dad the news."

"Yeah, hurry, would ya?"

Alyx turned the knob back to its original position to end the conversation. She looked at her drawing of Dog, shaking her head. Aliens are more important than a drawing, she reminded herself. She quickly slipped out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.

Aliens, huh? The thought actually sent a small shiver into Alyx's blood, but she tried to push back the thoughts by telling herself that practically everybody in Black Mesa East knew how to use a gun and take down somebody if they really needed to. She could fight for herself if the need ever arose for any reason, but Dog and the others usually took care of that for her.

Her feet drummed a steady beat as she passed the familiar hallways and faces. She wondered to herself what her dad would think of all this. After all, he did lose a leg thanks to a bullsquid, and Alyx only knew that species because of that reason. The only other aliens she was familiar with were just headcrabs and the Combine, and even then she's hardly seen them in person. She was lucky if she managed to convince any of the Black Mesa survivors, whom were only Barney, Doctor Kleiner, and Mossman in addition to her father, to tell her stories about the hellish event, but they tended to keep quiet about it. It was easy to tell they were emotionally scared by it, and so was Alyx, since she lost her mother that day.

White tile and the luster of stainless steel soon replaced the stone walls of the dim lighted hallways. It took Alyx a moment to realize that she was actually in the kitchen already. She was so stuck in her thoughts that she completely ignored the fact that she was running the entire way here, up stairways and through many doors. Her eyes easily caught sight of her father, busy conversing with Barney and a refugee she didn't know. The steam of her dad's tea slowly crept upwards and slipped past the white beard that clung onto his rough, dark skin. He laughed with the others, seeming as though a joke was just finished being shared, when Barney suddenly caught a glimpse of Alyx. He turned his head to face her, greeting her with a, "Hey Alyx, what's up?" The other two looked at her as well, but Alyx noticed that her dad looked awfully shocked for some reason.

"Alyx, what happened to you?" he questioned with worry, sweat suddenly slipping across his brows. Alyx was about to answer when she realized that she needed a moment to catch her breath. Wow, she didn't know that she really ran _that_ fast. Did she sprint the entire way here?

"Sentry five spotted a…a group of aliens." She held up three of her fingers as her chest rapidly rose and fell with each of her quick breaths. "Three of them, he said. Not sure what they…they are, but he's not sure if they're hostile or friendly. It's not the Combine." Alyx watched as Barney and her dad shared glances of doubt and other emotions she couldn't exactly recognize. Her dad placed down his cup of tea gently on the counter, expressing his apologies to the refugee about how he had to cut the conversation short. He then looked at Barney, saying, "Barney, would you mind radioing that sentry? You know I would do it, but with this leg—" he pointed to his prosthetic—"I'm afraid you'll beat me to it." Barney simply nodded.

"No problem, Doc." He was about to sprint out of there when he was suddenly told, "Take Alyx with you."

"Ok dad," she somehow managed to say through her lack of oxygen, then took a deep breath before running off again with Barney.

When the two arrived back at the room Alyx was in before, Barney immediately radioed the sentry, asking, "Sentry five, this is East, what's going on?"

"Well," the sentry began, letting static join the conversation for a moment before continuing. "There's three aliens heading this way, most likely Xenian. Definitely not Combine." The sentry winced for a moment, before saying, "Looks like one of them's injured. There's another walking with a limp…they don't look hostile, over."

"Roger that," Barney quickly responded. "Don't attack unless they do. I'm heading up there." With that, he turned the dial and ended the conversation. "Alyx," Barney began, swinging around and taking a look at the young girl, who was just about to continue her drawing of Dog. "We can't exactly take a chance here—I don't care what these things are; it's too much of a risk to hang around. I want you to go and get Dog out from the scrap yard, now." Alyx nodded with obedience, and quickly ran out towards her new destination.

After a series of opening doors, running down hallways and stairways, and entering and exiting airlocks, she finally made it to the scrap yard. The flood lights were currently off, since the sun gave enough light as it was for the moment. Alyx ran over towards the empty yard where she and Dog would always play, and called for her companion, patting her knees as she did so. Dog let electronic barks be her answer as he poked his head out from his little shack, knuckling his way over towards his owner. He skidded to a stop before her, letting out more barking noises. Dog only stood taller than Alyx by just a few inches, but she considered that a major improvement from his first model, which was only about three feet. It didn't seem as threatening when a three-foot metal body guard is standing next to a four-foot-seven girl. Alyx quickly explained the situation to Dog, who shook his body and made more electronic noises that seemed to resemble a growl. She motioned for Dog to follow her, and the two began yet another sprint back to the room.

Once they arrived, Barney was already gone, and Alyx noticed that her dad had taken his place. "Hey sweetheart," he managed to say, letting a smile slip past his thick lips. Alyx greeted her father back, with Dog letting out an electronic bark as his way of saying hello.

"East!" The radio suddenly sparked to life as an angered shout erupted from the speakers. The voice wasn't the same as the sentry's—Alyx figured that it was probably Barney. "East, I need a response, _now_!" Alyx and Dog watched as her father leaned over and turned the knob, his eyes showing uneasiness.

"What is it, Barney?" he asked, his voice expressing no worry, yet it still sounded concerned.

"They're Vortigaunts!" Barney barked. Alyx thought he heard a hiss slip out of him, although it could have just been the static. "They're coming towards base. Sentry's right; two look injured, but the other looks in perfect condition to fight—"

"Barney, calm down," her father suddenly responded, before Barney had a chance to continue his ranting. "How far away are they, do you know?"

"Looks like about twelve yards, I'd say. Eli, we better shoot them now before they kill us!" Alyx watched as her father took a deep breath, his eyelids slipping closed. Barney let the scientist take a moment to response, although it was pretty obvious that he was feeling more than impatient about the situation.

"Barney, I want you to listen to me very carefully." Alyx watched her father as he took another breath before saying, "I want you to standby and let them in."

"_What_?!" Barney practically screamed the word, making Alyx's stomach jump. The metal flaps of Dog's head straightened themselves as he let out noises that resembled a whimper. Alyx already felt rather uneasy about the situation, but Barney's reaction made fear skip into her mind. She tried to ease its intensity by shifting closer towards Dog, who nudged her arm gently with his metal head. Alyx watched her dad shake his head as Barney continued, "Eli, are you kidding me? Do you know what these things _did _to half of Black Mesa? They _killed_ Azian, and they almost killed the rest of us! What are you _thinking_?"

Alyx could feel a soft shiver slip into her skin at the mention of her mother's death. Barney _had_ to be pretty upset about these…whatever they were called if he did that—he knew the mention of her mother always made she and her father have ice replace their blood, and it wasn't like him to let that slip out. Dog looked at Alyx, then at her father, seeming completely clueless about what he was supposed to do, if he was expected to do anything at all.

"If the Vortigaunts are injured, then they're most likely looking for help," her father responded. His vocal chords let out a crack of emotion as he neared the end of his sentance. Alyx wasn't sure what it was—fear, anger, misery.

"And you want us to _help them_?! After what they did?!" Barney shouted back. It was easy to tell that he was angered, but whether or not he was directing his anger at the old scientist or at the coming Vortigaunts was something Alyx couldn't figure out.

"Barney, I'm not going to explain to you now. I want you to gather up our best fighters and stand in front of the entrance that the Vortigaunts are headed towards. I'll send Dog to help you."

"But Doct—"

"_Listen_, Barney!" Alyx was shocked to know that her dad actually raised his voice. That was rather unusual for him, especially towards his friend like that. She watched as he took a deep sigh, placing his hand across his brows. "…look," he began, softly placing a fist on the table that held up the radio, "there are only three of them. We outnumber them ten to one. If we have to, we can take them down before they can do any damage."

"Eli, I still think this is a bad idea." Alyx watched as her father left him without a response. "I guess I have no choice, though," Barney seemed to mutter under his breath. "Alright, I'm heading back." With that, the conversation reached its end.

"Dad?" Alyx let the name escape her lips with a soft tone, indicating her concern. She watched as her father slowly turned his head, trying his best to smile at her while hiding his stress. It wasn't the best attempt she's seen him do. "What are Vorigaunts?" Her father slowly walked over to her, placing a hand atop her shoulder. He seemed to ponder his choice of wording for a moment. He parted his lips and inhaled softly, but then quickly closed it.

"Vortigaunts," he finally managed to say, looking into her eyes, "were one of the alien species that were released during the incident at Black Mesa." Alyx looked at him with her lips slightly parted, eyes widened.

"Dad, did they really kill mom?" She watched as dread immediately shot through her father's veins, dulling the colors of his irises for a moment.

"I don't know, sweetheart," he calmly said, letting a sigh escape his nostrils. "I don't know." Barney's voice suddenly interrupted the conversation before Alyx could say anything.

"Attention everyone," Barney's voice boomed over the intercom, "we've got Xenians heading our way. I want everybody who can fight to suit up and get over to Entrance C, now. Those who can't, you know where to go. Do _not _waste any time."

Alyx looked at her father, fear and doubt beginning to tear at her mind. Were these Vortigaunt aliens really such a big deal? She's never actually seen Barney this upset over anything before, now that she thought about it.

"Daddy, what should I do?" she questioned her father. Dog also looked at him, letting whimpers be released from his synthetic mouth.

"Alyx, I want you to head to the safe room. I'm going to need Dog, and I don't want you getting hurt." Alyx sighed. She should have seen that coming. Her father changed his vision so that he was now focusing on her metal pet. "Dog, I want you to come with me." Dog took a look at Alyx and whimpered, but her father assured him that she would be fine. Her father asked for Alyx to leave and, groaning in her mind, she departed from the room. She could hear the clunking of Dog's metal paws as he stomped across the concrete, his creator close behind.

Alyx allowed her bottom lip to slip between her jaws. She always hated hiding inside the safe room. It was actually something like a bunker, but she developed the habit of calling it the safe room since she was but a toddler. The name stuck, and the adults she talked to most frequently called it the same whenever they talked to her about it. The safe room was nothing but a huge room, hopefully enough to hold everybody in the lab, with supplies incase they needed them. If anything, hiding made her feel more hopeless than safe. She could take care of herself. She's been using a gun for three years. That's enough to prove at least _something_, right?

Alyx watched as armed refugees stamped down the halls, their weapons held at the ready. Some of them yelled at her to hurry up as they passed, but Alyx continued to slowly walk towards the safe room. She had a different idea in mind, anyway. Her curiosity got the best of her, as she planned to slip into the surveillance room and hopefully get a good glimpse at these aliens through one of the cameras.

By the time she made it there, only a few refugees darted past her—most of them were at one of the two destinations by now. She let an invisible smile slip up her lips; to her, it meant less people to catch her. Her hopes were soon shot, however, as she realized who was coming out from the surveillance room.

"Alyx?" Crap, it was Mossman. Why couldn't she have left the room just a _few _minutes earlier? "What are you doing here?" Alyx bit her tongue as she tried to think of an answer. Mossman looked at her with an expression of shock, which was most likely masking the anger that was hidden behind her eyes.

"I was just getting my gun," Alyx quickly responded, before her hesitation was enough to give away her lies. Mossman walked closer to her, which made Alyx feel slightly disgusted.

"Well, you won't need that right now. Dog can protect you," Mossman responded.

"He's with dad."

"Really?" She crossed her arms as she pondered the statement for a moment. "Well, I'm sure your father knows what he's doing. Anyway, why don't you come with me? There will be people who can protect you."

"But I'd feel safer if I had my own gun!"

"Alyx, now is not the t—"

"_Please_?" Alyx gave her best fake hopeless look as she interrupted Mossman's thousand-reasons-why-she-should-go. She watched as Mossman sighed, shaking her head and gently placing her fingertips over the wrinkles that carved themselves onto her forehead.

"Alright," she responded. Alyx congratulated herself silently. She watched as Mossman's expression quickly became serious. "You'd better hurry up, though. Your father would never forgive me if anything happened to you."

"I'll be fine."

"Now, hurry up. I'll meet you in the safe room." With that, Alyx allowed thoughts of relief swell her mind as Mossman left.

Thank god. When Alyx was sure that Mossman was a fair distance away, she slipped inside the surveillance room. The sepia glow of the grayscale images light her face with a saddening hue. Alyx has done this same exact routine before; how she never got caught was either pure luck or natural skill. She quickly ran her eyes over each of the small televisions, looking for the aliens, a huge crowd of people, or both; she figured that it would be her best clue. Her vision caught sight of the empty kitchen, the deserted hallways, the crowded spaces of the safe room, and…ah! There it is! The video of Entrance C, where refugees stood patiently with weapons in hand, awaiting the arrival of the aliens. She noticed, at the corner of the screen, her father and Dog, who was shaking his head and seemed restless for a fight. Or maybe he just wanted to play.

Barney suddenly walked into view, holding a semi-automatic tightly in hand, his Kevlar vest crudely strapped around his upper body. He spat out commands to everyone, which Alyx basically summed up in her mind as "Don't shoot unless they do." The refugees waited with apprehension for the aliens—Alyx watched as some of them shifted their weight from one leg to another, change the position of their guns, their faces become tense with emotion. Barney still seemed to have a hint of hatred and doubt in his eyes, and a sneer seemed carved across his face. Everybody suddenly seemed startled, and that's when Alyx realized that the trio of Vortigaunts had finally made it into view, side by side.

The sentry's report was already confirmed by Barney, but Alyx now saw it with her own eyes. The one Vortigaunt on the right seemed to be injured, for a few gashes ran up its arm and a little into its chest. It appeared to Alyx that they could be wounds caused by the hot lead of bullets tearing into the flesh. Alyx was unable to tell if the injuries were major or minor, for it was automatically given that the aliens had a different structure than normal humans, so she couldn't use her own body as a comparison. The other Vortigaunt on the left didn't have any external injuries, but Alyx noticed that one of its backwards legs was folded and it rested the tip of its hooves on the ground. It had its arm wrapped around the rough-skinned neck of the middle one, who appeared to be completely injury-free. Alyx watched as the Vortigaunts looked cautiously at the rest of the humans. She then watched as her father commanded for the refugees to give them a little room. To her amazement, they actually complied without complaint, and formed a half-circle a couple of feet away from the Vorigaunts. The slam of the closing door of the entrance could be heard in the background. Barney quickly walked over towards Alyx's father once the Vortigaunts had stopped to stand for a moment.

"_Hel-lo_." Alyx watched as her father stepped towards the aliens, saying the word so calmly and slowly. "Do not worry; will we not harm you. We are your friends." The middle and right Vortigaunts looked at her father—the one on the left only kept his vision concentrated on the ground. Alyx watched her father slip a smile towards the aliens. Barney was probably grunting to himself about the friendly approach, Alyx figured. Her father continued, "We would like to help you."

"…help?" Everybody seemed shocked when the middle Vortigaunt suddenly spoke, and Alyx found herself leaning back in amazement. The Vortigaunt gave a minute for the gasps to be silenced before it continued. "Yes, we desire help." Alyx cocked a brow at the Vortigaunt, and noticed that most of the refugees did the same. It spoke English? _Understandable _English? Her father still seemed shocked at the response.

"Yes," he slowly replied. "Can you understand what I am saying?"

"Indeed," the Vortigaunt replied, its quick pace suggesting that English was a fluent tongue of his. "We know the language of the humans. We have listened to the words of those who have walked through the cities. We retrieved much of our knowledge of the human race from the chatter of the Combine that had once controlled us."

The voice of the Vortigaunt sounded rough, as though each word it said was scraping against its vocal chords. Alyx wasn't sure if it were because it was either exhausted or if that was just the natural voice of the creature.

"We come here seeking refuge from the Combine," the Vortigaunt continued. "My kin and I managed to break the bindings that the Combine had restrained upon us within the confines of the cities. We fled for our freedom and had arrived here. We wish no harm."

"Hard to believe that," Barney suddenly blurted, "considering how you nearly wiped out everybody at Black Mesa years ago." He showed no signs of attempting assault anytime soon, but instead let a sour remark mask his face. The Vortigaunt looked at him, puzzled. Barney's grip on his gun seemed to tighten, probably to the point where his muscles were most likely beginning to scream.

"We will not beg for forgiveness of what our kin have done in the past," he responded, "and we do not expect it to happen. Yet, we cannot bestow forgiveness to your kind for what you have done to our brethren, either. However, we ask for a time for peace. Please understand; we were no more than mere slaves at the time of the resonance cascade of Black Mesa. We were frightened and did what the Nihilanth had commanded; its death has given us our free will." Everybody seemed silent for a moment, eyes all concentrated on the luminous red eye of the Xenian. When no words seemed to escape from anyone, the Vortigaunt decided to continue.

"Your planet it now our home," he said, shaking his head as though he had a chill that ran up his alien spine. "We do not wish for it to appear as though we have invaded it. The portal storms have trapped us here—there is nothing we can do to return. But we have decided that if this will be the planet where we shall reside, then we shall fight for its freedom from the Combine. We do not wish for it to become what Xen had once been."

There were whispers drifting around the refugees, all containing doubt in their words. Alyx watched as a deep and thoughtful look had covered her father's face, until he finally let out the next words of the conversation.

"We understand," he said softly, letting his head bob with a nod. He soon changed his vision to focus on the other two Xenians. "What's wrong with your friends, there?" he questioned, gently pointing his finger in the general direction of the trio of aliens. The middle and right Vortigaunt looked at each other.

"This one," he began, using the arm in the middle of his chest to point to his right, "has been wounded by the weapons of the Combine. Normally, we would heal his wounds, but we cannot until the…" It seemed as though he was trying to search for the correct word, "…material, shall we say, is removed."

"So he was shot, then?" a voice called out.

"If that is how you humans refer to injuries such as this," the Vortigaunt replied, attempting to look in the general direction the voice had most likely came from. He tilted his head towards the Vortigaunt whose weight he shared on his shoulder. "This one has suffered whilst traveling here. Only rest may heal it."

"If we fix you up, what do you plan on doing next?" Barney questioned. Alyx noticed that the hostility in his voice had weakened, but, knowing him, his mind was still probably racing with angered thoughts. The Vortigaunt looked confused at Barney's choice of words, but attempted to respond anyway.

"We understand that it is a great deal to ask such favors from you," he began, "but we wish to take residence within this santuary." Another chorus of gasps and mutterings, thoughts swirling overhead. Alyx found herself to be just as shocked. The Vortigaunts looked like they weren't planning to hurt anyone, at least for now, but that could easily change within an instant. She could just imagine her last memory being of that bulbous eye in front of her, filled with hatred and vengeance. Alyx watched as Barney leaned over and whispered something into her father's ear, whose face released many emotions.

"Excuse us for a moment," he began, raising his index finger to show that he needed a minute. "We need to talk this over."

"We understand. We do not wish for you to be rushed." The old scientist nodded. Barney then gave a command to the group of armed refugees, which seemed to be a code—Alyx assumed that he was trying to make sure the Vortigaunts didn't pick up on the order. She was already used to listening to these codes and knew them from her training, and decoded it to be an order to standby and shoot only if they do—do not let them out of your sight. Alyx's hazel irises drifted around the collection of monitors as her father and Barney slipped offscreen. Her mind was encircled with thoughts about where they were going and what they were planning. She let a smile slip onto her delicate face as she found them on a different monitor. Aylx pressed a button on the console in front of her, which un-muted the sound to that particular room.

"Doctor Vance," Barney began, addressing Alyx's father in an unusually formal way, "you and I both know what these aliens did to us, our co-workers, our families…what are you thinking?" Alyx noticed that Barney's tone had shifted to a different emotion than the one that leaked into his voice before—it sounded like desperation. Alyx's father sighed, looking away from the middle-aged, wide-eyed security guard.

"I'm sorry for not explaining this to you before, Barney, but it really wasn't the time." He turned back his concentration towards his old co-worker, his voice somehow still sounding soothing like Alyx had always known it to be. "I know you don't trust the Vortigaunts after what they have done, and I don't believe anyone does. But think of this, Barney—if we can convince them to join the resistance, they could be vital allies against the Combine." Barney simply crossed his arms at the statement.

"I don't know, Eli," he responded, shifting his weight onto one of his legs. He rubbed the back of his neck with one of his clammy hands."This just doesn't sound right. I mean, those Vortigaunts just _happened _to escape the Combine, with only minor scratches, and some how end up here? You can't tell me you don't think that's strange." He let his arms limply fall to his sides and shifted his weight to his other leg. "Those bullet wounds could very well be from one of the refugee camps out in the canals." Alyx watched as her father nodded, wrapping his chin with his thumb and index finger, a habit that was passed on to Alyx.

"I see what you mean," he replied, "but as I said before, there are only three of them."

"They could be planning something for all we know. Hell, there could be loads of them out there just waiting to attack."

"Then I would imagine that our sentries would be able to spot them before they are able to do anything. Barney, you and I survived Black Mesa, and we both got our shares of scars from it." Barney grunted to himself, taking a quick glance at the doctor's metal leg. "The Vortigaunts can be stopped if they have to. If you don't mind, I just want to see their potential. They are already convinced that they should help fight for Earth—asking them to join the resistance shouldn't be as troubling as we may think it will be." Barney's eyes narrowed for a moment as thoughts entered and left his skull.

"Alright Eli, al-alright." His voice seemed to stutter with worry for a moment, as he placed his hand onto his face, slipping his eyes closed. He muttered something under his breath, which Alyx thought to be along the lines of, "God, I hope this works." He faced the doctor once again. "I'm keeping the refugees on high alert until we can completely trust them. We can't take any chances."

"I understand," was his simple reply. The two left the room, and Alyx switched the volume and her vision back to where it previously was. The duo soon entered the room once again, and nothing seemed to change—the refugees were still half-circled around the trio of Vortigaunts, who were just standing idly.

"We have talked it over," Alyx's father began, "and we have agreed to allow you three to stay here." A chorus of hushed voices soon circled overhead, but Barney gave a look that basically implied a "Shut up and I'll tell you later" thought. It seemed to work…for the moment, at least.

Alyx wasn't sure if the Vortigaunts were capable of showing a smile, but they seemed rather happy. "We are forever grateful of what you and your kind have done for us," the Vortigaunt said in its scratchy voice. "For that, we shall forever be in your debt." Alyx noticed that the refugees and her father looked rather shocked and speechless at the statement, but Barney had allowed a look of suspicion to slip across his face. "If we may ask, what are you called amongst your kind?"

Alyx pondered the wording, trying her best to restate it within her mind so that she was able to actually understand it. Her father seemed to beat her to it, however.

"Eli Vance," he replied with a smile, looking as though he was about to shake hands with the strange creature, but checked the movement. They probably didn't know what he meant by holding out his hand, anyway, Alyx figured. The Vortigaunt shook its large head.

"We are forever honored to be within your presence," the Vortigaunt said, "along with the rest of the humans within this facility." He looked around at the uneasy faces of the refugees. "If there is anything you wish to be done, then please, let us know."

"Yeah, great," Barney muttered, rolling his eyes. "Alright, well, I guess we'll get you guys fixed up now. I want you—" he pointed at one of the refugees, who Alyx recognized to be one of the more respected medics within the lab "–to gather up the medics you'll need to heal these guys. You two go with them." He pointed at two other refugees, who simply nodded as a reply. The medic asked for the Vortigaunts to follow, and one of the refugees helped share the weight of the limping Vortigaunt. The middle Vortigaunt let a gleam slip into his huge eye.

"We thank you, once again," he replied, as he walked along with the rest.

--

_And that ending sucked._

_Geeze, the Vortigaunts are tricky to write for. Ever since I first started writing for Half-Life I always wanted to try writing about the Vortigaunts. The fact that the human race trusts them so much is seriously unexplained, and I would imagine that them joining the resistance was an interesting event. And so, I wrote this! I read somewhere that, according to in-game dialogue, Eli was the first to make peaceful contact with the Vorts and convince them to fight for Earth. It was seriously hard writing his dialogue for this while still keeping him in character--originally, I planned on having Doctor Kleiner talk to the Vorts and convince everyone instead. Changing everything around was hard to do._

_Notice how I always refer to Eli as Alyx's father--that's because I wanted to show the reader that this is Alyx's perspective, and I doubt she'd call her father by his first name. That did get a bit irritating, however. Also notice that I refer to Judith by her last name--it was a way to show Alyx's disrespect towards her. And ha, Barney :D Yeah. Saw that coming._

_Anyway, I plan on Part Two being the "aftermath" of having the Vorts stay, like how they prove their worth and everything (I'm interested in the fact that they know how to cook, as seen in Black Mesa East). Crap, I'm going to need to play Episode Two again to do some research on this. Too bad I don't really like that game._

_Thanks so much for reading and I hope this was worth the wait! Let me know if you want to see Part Two, and feel free to share an idea if you have one. I've got plenty, but I want to make sure you guys know that I'm doing this for you mainly. Thanks again!_

_Edit: It's been three days since I posted this and nobody reviewed it? Wow, that's not like you guys D: I didn't fall off the radar or anything, did I?_


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